Laure Cabantous

Laure is Professor of Strategy and Organization at Cass Business School. She has a specific interest for the performative power of theories - that is their ability to shape the world and business practices. Laure also studies decision-making practices, both at the organizational and the individual levels with a specific interest for the management of risk and uncertainty, the interplay between intuition and analysis, and calculative practices in organisations (i.e., how various types of models such as economic models, business models are used in organisations and help managers make decisions).

Laure's research has been published in reviews such as the Journal of Management, Organization Science, Organization Studies, Human Relations, the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, the Journal of Behavioral Decision-Making, Theory and Decision, and La Revue Economique.

Previously, Laure worked at Warwick Business School, ESCP Europe, Nottingham University Business School, and the Centre for Decision Research at Leeds University Business School. She is a Fulbright Fellow and a former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Cachan). She holds a Ph.D. from the Toulouse School of Economics (France), a Master of Research in Environmental Economics from the University Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne, a Master in Management from the University Paris XII, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Toulouse II-Le Mirail.

Qualifications

PhD.

Fellowships

Fulbright Fellow, Risk Management and Decision Process Center, Wharton School, Jul – Sep 2007

Memberships of Professional Organisations

Member of the ESRC Peer Review College, ESRC, Jan 2010 – Dec 2014

Award

Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP), Toulouse (2007) PhD award

Languages

French.

Expertise

Primary Topics

• Decision Theory
• Organization Theory
• Organizational Behaviour
• Strategic Management

Additional Topics

• Qualitative Research Methods
• Risk Management

Industries/Professions

insurance

Research

Over the last three years, I have conducted research on three topics: i) the performativity power of theories; ii) decision-making and cognition and; iii) the role of models and calculative practice (in particular in the reinsurance industry). In these three areas of research, I have published several papers in internationally and nationaly excellent journals (e.g., Journal of Management, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty; Human Relations)

Research Topics

The performative power of theories

In my research, I investigate the performative power of theories by studying the mechanisms by which various types of expert bodies of knowledge (e.g., economics, decision theory, management theories...) shape world and business practices and contribute to the "economisation" of contemporary societies. My interest for the performative power of theories also leads me to conduct research on the relationships between academics and practitioners, the usefulness of management theories for managers, and engaged scholarship (see also critical performativity).

Decision-making under uncertainty

I have a long lasting interest for decision-making processes and practices, both at the organizational and the individual levels. At the individual level, I focus on situations where decision-makers face ambiguous information, or receive conflicting recommendations from their advisers. I also study how decision makers balance between analytical and intuitive modes of information processing. At the organizational level, my research is informed by insights from the process perspective in strategy, the strategy-as-practice stream of research, as well as the cognitive perspective in management (including distributed cognition). I am especially interested in the roles of decision-making tools and models (broadly defined) in strategy making.

Calculative practices and the role of models in organisations

I have a specific interest for calculative practices (e.g., CAT models, underwriters’ pricing routines) and the roles of models in organisations, such as insurance companies (e.g., economic capital models, Solvency II).

Chapters (8)

• Cabantous, L. and Gond, J. (2016). Performativity: Towards a performative turn in organizational studies. In Mir, R., Willmott, H. and Greenwood, M. (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy in Organization Studies (pp. 508–516). Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-70286-7.
• Cabantous, L. and Dupont-Courtade, T. (2015). What is a catastrophe model worth? The (e)valuative practices of cat analysts in insurance companies. In Kornberger, M., Justesen, L., Madsen, A.K. and Mouritsen, J. (Eds.), Making Things Valuable (pp. 148–166). Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-871228-2.
• Baldacchino, L., Ucbasaran, D., Lockett, A. and Cabantous, L. (2014). Capturing intuition through concurrent protocol analysis. Handbook of Research Methods on Intuition (pp. 160–175). ISBN 978-1-78254-599-6.
• Oswick, C., Gond, J. and Cabantous, L. (2014). The Discursive Construction of the Academic-Practitioner Divide: Re-conceptualizing the ‘Gap’ Metaphor. In Reed, C., Thomas, R., Davies, A., Keenoy, T., McDermott, A., Hurlow, S., Sabells, I., Ybema, S., Oswick, C., Beech, N. and Hardy, C. (Eds.), Organizational Discourse: Terra Firma, Terra Nova, Terra Incognita (11th International Conference on Organisational Discourse) KMC Press.
• Cabantous, L., Gond, J.P. and Johnson-Cramer, M. (2009). The Social Construction of Rationality in Organizational Decision Making. The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Decision Making ISBN 978-0-19-157733-8.
• Cabantous, L. and Hilton, D. (2008). Économie et Psychologie. In Walliser, B. (Ed.), Economie et cognition Editions OPHRYS. ISBN 978-2-7080-1159-5.
• Cabantous, L. (2008). Les entreprises prennent des décisions (ir)rationnelles. In Pezet, A. and Sponem, S. (Eds.), Petit bréviaire des idées reçues en management Editions La Découverte. ISBN 978-2-7071-5639-6.
• Cabantous, L., Hilton, D. and Abecassis, P. (2005). Le décideur sous influence : l'émergence de la décision collective. In Vidaillet, B. and d’Estaintot, V. (Eds.), La décision: Une approche pluridisciplinaire des processus de choix (pp. 221–234). De Boeck Supérieur. ISBN 978-2-8041-4872-0.

Journal Articles (28)

• Esper, S.C., Cabantous, L., Barin-Cruz, L. and Gond, J.P. (2017). Supporting alternative organizations? Exploring scholars’ involvement in the performativity of worker-recuperated enterprises. Organization, 24(5), pp. 671–699. doi:10.1177/1350508417713218.
• Cabantous, L., Gond, J.P., Harding, N. and Learmonth, M. (2016). Critical Essay: Reconsidering critical performativity. Human Relations, 69(2), pp. 197–213. doi:10.1177/0018726715584690.
• Learmonth, M., Harding, N., Gond, J.P. and Cabantous, L. (2016). Moving critical performativity forward. Human Relations, 69(2), pp. 251–256. doi:10.1177/0018726715620477.
• Cabantous, L. and Laporte, G. (2015). ASP, the art and science of practice: Academia-industry interfacing in operations research in Montréal. Interfaces, 45(6), pp. 554–566. doi:10.1287/inte.2015.0815.
• Gond, J.P., Cabantous, L., Harding, N. and Learmonth, M. (2015). What Do We Mean by Performativity in Organizational and Management Theory? The Uses and Abuses of Performativity. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18(4), pp. 440–463. doi:10.1111/ijmr.12074.
• Jarzabkowski, P., Bednarek, R. and Cabantous, L. (2015). Conducting global team-based ethnography: Methodological challenges and practical methods. Human Relations, 68(1), pp. 3–33. doi:10.1177/0018726714535449.
• Cabantous, L. and Gond, J.P. (2015). The Resistible Rise of Bayesian Thinking in Management: Historical Lessons From Decision Analysis. Journal of Management, 41(2), pp. 441–470. doi:10.1177/0149206314558092.
• Mikhalkina, T. and Cabantous, L. (2015). Business model innovation: How iconic business models emerge. Advances in Strategic Management, 33, pp. 59–95. doi:10.1108/S0742-332220150000033024.
• Baldacchino, L., Ucbasaran, D., Cabantous, L. and Lockett, A. (2015). Entrepreneurship research on intuition: A critical analysis and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 17(2), pp. 212–231. doi:10.1111/ijmr.12056.
• Brunette, M., Cabantous, L. and Couture, S. (2015). Are individuals more risk and ambiguity averse in a group environment or alone? Results from an experimental study. Theory and Decision, 78(3), pp. 357–376. doi:10.1007/s11238-014-9432-5.
• Cabantous, L. and Liarte, S. (2014). A word from (new) editors. Management (France), 17(2), pp. 83–87.
• Jarzabkowski, P., Bednarek, R. and Cabantous, L. (2014). Changing competitive dynamics in the reinsurance industry: implications of changes in buyer behavior for reinsurance executives. The Journal of Financial Perspectives, 2(1), pp. 27–38.
• Baldacchino, L., Ucbasaran, D. and Cabantous, L. (2014). Experience and Opportunity Identification: The Role of Intuition and Cognitive Versatility. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014(1), pp. 17303–17303. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.2014.17303abstract.
• Jarzabkowski, P., Bednarek, R. and Cabantous, L. (2014). Conducting Global Team-based Ethnography: Methodological Challenges and Reflections. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014(1), pp. 16809–16809. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.2014.16809abstract.
• Brunette, M., Cabantous, L., Couture, S. and Stenger, A. (2013). The impact of governmental assistance on insurance demand under ambiguity: A theoretical model and an experimental test. Theory and Decision, 75(2), pp. 153–174. doi:10.1007/s11238-012-9321-8.
• Germain, O. and Cabantous, L. (2013). Introduction: Special Symposium " Carnegie school and organization studies". European Management Journal, 31(1), pp. 67–71. doi:10.1016/j.emj.2012.11.004.
• Cabantous, L. and Gond, J.P. (2012). Du mode d'existence des théories dans les organizations: La fabrique de la decision comme praxis performative. Revue Francaise de Gestion, 225(6), pp. 61–81. doi:10.3166/RFG.225.61-81.
• Baillon, A., Cabantous, L. and Wakker, P.P. (2012). Aggregating imprecise or conflicting beliefs: An experimental investigation using modern ambiguity theories. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 44(2), pp. 115–147. doi:10.1007/s11166-012-9140-x.
• Cabantous, L., Hilton, D., Kunreuther, H. and Michel-Kerjan, E. (2011). Is imprecise knowledge better than conflicting expertise? Evidence from insurers' decisions in the United States. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 42(3), pp. 211–232. doi:10.1007/s11166-011-9117-1.
• Cabantous, L. and Gond, J.P. (2011). Rational decision making as performative praxis: Explaining rationality's éternel retour. Organization Science, 22(3), pp. 573–586. doi:10.1287/orsc.1100.0534.
• Hilton, D., Régner, I., Cabantous, L., Charalambides, L. and Vautier, S. (2011). Do positive illusions predict overconfidence in judgment? A test using interval production and probability evaluation measures of miscalibration. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 24(2), pp. 117–139. doi:10.1002/bdm.678.
• Cabantous, L., Gond, J.P. and Johnson-Cramer, M. (2010). Decision theory as practice: Crafting rationality in organizations. Organization Studies, 31(11), pp. 1531–1566. doi:10.1177/0170840610380804.
• Cabantous, L., Chanel, O. and Vergnaud, J.C. (2009). Transport, health and climate change: Deciding on the optimal policy. Economie Internationale, 120(4), pp. 11–36.
• Brunette, M., Cabantous, L., Couture, S. and Stenger, A. (2009). Assurance, intervention publique et ambiguïté : Une étude expérimentale auprès de propriétaires forestiers privés. Economie et Prevision, 190-191(4-5), pp. 123–134.
• Cabantous, L. (2007). Ambiguity aversion in the field of insurance: Insurers' attitude to imprecise and conflicting probability estimates. Theory and Decision, 62(3), pp. 219–240. doi:10.1007/s11238-006-9015-1.
• Goodess, C.M., Hall, J., Best, M., Betts, R., Cabantous, L., Jones, P.D., Kilsby, C.G., Pearman, A. and Wallace, C.J. (2007). Climate scenarios and decision making under uncertainty. Built Environment, 33(1), pp. 10–30. doi:10.2148/benv.33.1.10.
• Cabantous, L. and Hilton, D. (2006). From ambiguity aversion to attitudes towards ambiguity: Contributions of a psychological perspective to economics. Revue Economique, 57(2), pp. 259–280. doi:10.3917/reco.572.0259.
• Cabantous, L. (2003). Comment les assureurs réagissent-ils à l'ambiguïté des probabilités et aux conflits d'experts? Risques - Les Cahiers de l'Assurance, 55 .

Editorial Activities (4)

• M@n@gement, Editor, 2014 – 2016.
• Organization Studies, Member of Editorial Board, 2014 – present.
• M@n@gement, Associate Editor, 2011 – 2013.
• Organization Science; Organization Studies; European Management Journal; Theory and Decision; Journal of Risk and Uncertainty; Journal of Management Studies, Referee, 2009 – present.